Baylor Salvages Series against Oklahoma State with Walk-Off Win in Finale, 5-4

WACO, Texas – Baylor baseball (31-20, 11-16) salvaged its series against Oklahoma State (23-22, 12-12) with an extra-innings walk-off victory, 5-4, in the series finale on Sunday afternoon at Baylor Ballpark.

In the tenth inning, shortstop Tyriq Kemp (Sr.) collected his second base hit of the afternoon with a one-out single up the middle. Later in the frame, with runners on first and second base, designated hitter Hunter Simmons (RSr.) hit a routine grounder that should have ended the inning.

Instead, Oklahoma State’s shortstop Drew Culbertson (So.) booted the ball and froze for a second, allowing Kemp to soar past third base and make it home just in time to slide under the tag of the catcher, Beau Sylvester (So.), and secure the walk-off victory and end Baylor’s four-game skid in conference play.

Baylor Athletics

The middle infield duo of Tyriq Kemp (Sr.) and Travis Sanders (RSo.) combined to go 5-for-10 at the plate in Sunday’s win.

“I was thinking, it doesn’t matter what happens here if it’s going to be a hit or an error, I’m scoring,” Kemp said post-game. “It felt amazing knowing that it’s probably our last game here, and just enjoying the game with the guys. It was a perfect way to end it.”

In the victory, five different Bears — Kemp, Enzo Apodaca (RSr.), Travis Sanders (RSo.), Wesley Jordan (Sr.) and Ty Johnson (Sr.) — recorded multi-hit contests with Sanders going 3-for-5 with a double. Kemp extended his on-base streak to a team-high 27 games.

Right-handed pitcher Gabe Craig (RSr.) was excellent out of the bullpen, earning his third win of the season after going a career-long 4.1 frames. Craig didn’t allow a run and struck out four on 52 pitches, only allowing two baserunners. Craig’s earned run average is 0.61 on the season, with a 46-to-3 strikeout-to-walk ratio.

“It was really special,” Craig said post-game of the win. “I can’t speak enough to this group of seniors; I love playing with them. It was really cool for the last homestand to show the fight that we did, even coming off a couple of rough games.”

Left-handed pitcher Caleb Jameson (RJr.) started the contest for the Bears and walked the first two batters he faced. Jameson picked up two outs but surrendered a two-out single to designated hitter Jayson Jones (Jr.) to give the Cowboys a 1-0 lead in the top of the first.

Jameson rebounded with a scoreless second inning before getting pulled in favor of right-handed pitcher Cole Stasio (RSr.) in the third. Jameson allowed one run and struck out two across 2.2 frames.

Apodaca tied the game at one apiece in the third inning with a two-run single that he snuck through the right side to score first baseman Jack Little (RSo.). Apodaca holds a team-high 16-game hitting streak.

In the victory, Baylor was 4-for-10 (.400) with runners in scoring position and 5-for-15 (.333) with runners on.

In his final performance at Baylor Ballpark, Stasio tossed two clean frames and struck out two on 32 pitches. Left-handed pitcher Bryson Bales (6Sr.) entered in place of Stasio, issued a two-out walk and advanced the runner to second base on a balk.

The following at-bat, right fielder Nolan Schubart (Jr.) lined an RBI single into right field to give Oklahoma State back the lead, 2-1, in the top of the fifth.

The Cowboys plated two more runs in the sixth inning when veteran righty Patrick Hail (6Sr.) loaded the bases with three free passes. Craig entered to try and mitigate the damage, but allowed a two-run single to second baseman Alex Conover (So.).

The Bears added a run in the bottom of the frame when Kemp grounded into a double play, but scored Apodaca from third base, who reached on a leadoff double. The Bears have grounded into five double plays across the last two games.

In the eighth inning, Sanders torched a double to right center field, and Kemp singled into center field to put runners on the corners with one out. Jordan came up clutch with an RBI double over the head of Oklahoma State’s right fielder, and Simmons tied the game with an RBI sacrifice fly.

“He’s had a rough go here in the last six, seven games, but he keeps battling through and took some good swings,” head coach Mitch Thompson said of Sanders. “He had three big knocks and came through with the double and started everything there for us in the eighth.”

Final (10 Innings): Baylor 5, Oklahoma State 4

W: Gabe Craig (3-0) L: Hunter Watkins (5-4)

POTG: Gabe Craig (4.1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 4 K, 14 BF, 52 TP, 38 ST)

WHAT’S NEXT

The Bears (31-20, 11-16) will finish the regular season with a road series next weekend against UCF (27-24, 8-19). All three games will be streamed on ESPN+.